​A Giant Step Forward In Forensic Science

What is new is the addition of 401 the BIN number 3^W%b7! just below the bar code.

The BIN number 401 is located next to the bar code to allow them to be scanned in conjunction. At this point, when the fifty .45 caliber bullets marked with the ballistic identification number 3^W%b7! are boxed as a unit, the ballistic identification number 3^W%b7! is entered into the BIN system database as being in existence.

The Ballistic Identification Number system database is the heart of the BIN system. For clarity of discussion visualize this database to be divided into two portions, left and right.

The "left" side of the BIN system database only collects and holds the ballistic identification numbers of bullets that are in existence. It is not interested in how many bullets are in the box, or the caliber, nor is it interested in the ownership of those fifty rounds, or their location. This portion of the database only collects the Ballistic Identification Numbers of rounds that are "out there somewhere."

The "right" side of the BIN system database has a similar function. It holds the Ballistic Liability Insurance policy numbers that will be discussed in the article on Ballistic Liability Insurance.

Practical Application Of The BIN Number

Because of the potential for death, bodily injury, or property damage, no motor vehicle can be legally driven in any of the fifty states without proof of insurance or by showing proof of financial responsibility.

The genesis moment that brought the idea of the ballistic identification number was also the genesis of what, Ballistic Identification Number system, or BIN system.

Under the BIN system all manufactured bullets, domestic or imported, rather manufactured for military, public safety, or personal use will carry a ballistic identification number.

Because of universal marking, the BIN system makes feasible applications and industries that until now were not even thought of.

A .45 caliber bullet weighs around 230 grains, a little more than a half of an ounce, and costs about 35 cents. It can cause as much, or sometimes more physical and economic damage than an SUV that weights 4,000 pounds and costs sixty thousand dollars. The big difference between the two is that by law, the damage caused by the SUV is covered by insurance and the damage caused by the bullet is not.

Until the discovery of the Ballistic Identification Number, or BIN number, there was no way to identify an individual bullet the way there is to identify a specific motor vehicle. Now, by using the BIN system there is. The implementation of the BIN system will require cooperation between the States and Industry, but the precedent for this cooperation has been repeatedly shown.

Because of arguments over who was responsible for injuries and damages to property, motor vehicle insurance was invented and eventually became mandatory. Because of the carnage, seatbelts were invented and eventually became mandatory. Airbags were invented and eventually they became mandatory as well. Because of its far reaching flexibility the BIN system will eventually become mandatory too.

The Ballistic Identification Number system is capable of uniquely identifying 94^7 bullets, but bullets are not sold one at a time. Bullets are packaged, in for instance boxes of fifty for pistols and twenty for rifles. Because of this packaging there is no need to inscribe each bullet manufactured with an individual BIN number. Using today’s advanced computers and robotics it would easy to inscribe the same number, for example the character string 3^W%b7! on each of fifty bullets and imprint that same BIN number on the box.

Fig 7. shows the information printed on the end of a typical box of ammunition. 701 shows the manufacturer. 702 shows that the box holds fifty rounds of 703 .45 caliber bullets with a diameter just a little bigger than forty-five one hundredths of an inch. 704 shows they weigh 230 grains, a little more than a half ounce, and have 705 a Full Metal Jacket. The +P 706 shows that they hold a higher than normal charge. 707 is the manufacturer’s lot number. On the right side in the white box is 708 the bar code. All this information is already on boxes of ammunition.

If there were no commercial application, the ability to identify one individual bullet out of the ten billion manufactured each year would be nothing more than an interesting but useless fact, but 94^7 is a number that opens the doors for a variety of commercial applications.

Universally, when a motor vehicle is manufactured, purchased, registered, insured, crashed, or stolen, the common denominator used to identify that specific motor vehicle is the Vehicle Identification Number or, ​VIN number.​

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